willingtorelocate
Well-known member
Hey everybody.
So, update on the Manchester camping project, if anyone's interested.
Everything's going swimmingly. I've been staying warm mainly with propane, I got a big dyna-glow 1500-btu, which is about half of what the built in heater would be doing if it worked. I got that one because (even if it is ugly), it fits on the bigger propane tanks, and I didn't want to wait on the adapter for the mr. buddy at home depot. At night, because I'm worried about the open flame of it, I'm using a small electric cost saver heater I picked up at Walmart. It's not great for heating the whole trailer, but it's enclosed, so I can wrap my blanket over it. And it heats the bed beautifully.
I figured out that I want to start posing as a construction trailer. I made up a business name, threw some clip art on it, and added my phone number, then printed out a sign that I taped haphazardly to the front door of the trailer. I've been keeping the lights mostly dark at night. Nobody's said anything to me, but I watched that one video Bob posted about the guy who got bothered boy cops at 2am (using a strikingly similar formula to the one I'm using), and I figured it probably made sense to take some precautions. Might really bring it home by putting a saw horse next to it, and throwing down some cheap tools or a toolbox next to it. Maybe some two by fours. They don't cost much.
I think I've figured out how to get to my gray and black tanks from the inside of the trailer without taking anything apart, so I can run some heating wire. There's a little hatch by the shower that seems to provide at least some access to it. I still have one of the two packs of heating wire I bought. First one melted on the bed, trying to stay warm that first night before I bought the heater. So that's my weekend project. I don't think the antifreeze in the gray and black water tanks is working quite as well as I expected.
Neither is frozen solid as far as I can tell, but there is definitely some ice there, and I'm concerned about it. Last night, the gray water overflowed into the shower, with a little bit of ice throughout, and I freaked out a little bit. Today, it was gone, but I realized I need to take care of it sooner than later.
The regular outside temp around here is about 17 degrees give or take. And I'm not at home at all during the day, anytime but the weekends. That's been great, because I'm not using much in the way of resources, but one thing I've noticed is that my fridge freezes everything when I'm not here. I've tried messing around with the settings, but no avail. Have any of you guys been through this?
Organizing my stuff has been interesting. I'm an organizer. I like everything to be in just the right place. But the weird floor plan in this trailer has been making me think and rethink where I put things. I also feel like I'm always discovering new cabinet space. I didn't think I had much when first got it. So, I put pretty much everything in a very small subsection of the space I actually have. Turns out though, that I have room for just about everything, and then some. Just need to look at it a little more creatively.
I'm loving the area. I'm a mile from downtown, and walking distance from the local amenities. Discovered the local Goodwill the other day, and loaded up on clothes, odds and ends, and a couple of decent books. I haven't had more than a week's worth of clothes in years. Starting to feel spoiled. I'm also within a couple miles of a place to fill my propane tanks, and the food in this town is absolutely amazing. The pizza around here is absolutely perfect.
Only three more weeks til my first payday, and I'm excited. Going to do the mirror and tow package upgrades on the truck, and maybe get some solar panels. It's been freezing, but unusually sunny since I've been here.
Overall, I'm really happy with my first camper trailer, and I think I'm going to keep doing this. It works out well. It's basically about the same size as a studio apartment, costs about the same (maybe a little less) for lot rental. But the difference here, is that I can take it with me wherever I go. The next project I work on will almost certainly be in another state. But now, I'm at home just about anywhere. I've been on the road doing this kind of work for pretty much my entire adult life. But having a home on wheels, that's new for me, and I'm loving the adventure of it.
Just thought I would share.
So, update on the Manchester camping project, if anyone's interested.
Everything's going swimmingly. I've been staying warm mainly with propane, I got a big dyna-glow 1500-btu, which is about half of what the built in heater would be doing if it worked. I got that one because (even if it is ugly), it fits on the bigger propane tanks, and I didn't want to wait on the adapter for the mr. buddy at home depot. At night, because I'm worried about the open flame of it, I'm using a small electric cost saver heater I picked up at Walmart. It's not great for heating the whole trailer, but it's enclosed, so I can wrap my blanket over it. And it heats the bed beautifully.
I figured out that I want to start posing as a construction trailer. I made up a business name, threw some clip art on it, and added my phone number, then printed out a sign that I taped haphazardly to the front door of the trailer. I've been keeping the lights mostly dark at night. Nobody's said anything to me, but I watched that one video Bob posted about the guy who got bothered boy cops at 2am (using a strikingly similar formula to the one I'm using), and I figured it probably made sense to take some precautions. Might really bring it home by putting a saw horse next to it, and throwing down some cheap tools or a toolbox next to it. Maybe some two by fours. They don't cost much.
I think I've figured out how to get to my gray and black tanks from the inside of the trailer without taking anything apart, so I can run some heating wire. There's a little hatch by the shower that seems to provide at least some access to it. I still have one of the two packs of heating wire I bought. First one melted on the bed, trying to stay warm that first night before I bought the heater. So that's my weekend project. I don't think the antifreeze in the gray and black water tanks is working quite as well as I expected.
Neither is frozen solid as far as I can tell, but there is definitely some ice there, and I'm concerned about it. Last night, the gray water overflowed into the shower, with a little bit of ice throughout, and I freaked out a little bit. Today, it was gone, but I realized I need to take care of it sooner than later.
The regular outside temp around here is about 17 degrees give or take. And I'm not at home at all during the day, anytime but the weekends. That's been great, because I'm not using much in the way of resources, but one thing I've noticed is that my fridge freezes everything when I'm not here. I've tried messing around with the settings, but no avail. Have any of you guys been through this?
Organizing my stuff has been interesting. I'm an organizer. I like everything to be in just the right place. But the weird floor plan in this trailer has been making me think and rethink where I put things. I also feel like I'm always discovering new cabinet space. I didn't think I had much when first got it. So, I put pretty much everything in a very small subsection of the space I actually have. Turns out though, that I have room for just about everything, and then some. Just need to look at it a little more creatively.
I'm loving the area. I'm a mile from downtown, and walking distance from the local amenities. Discovered the local Goodwill the other day, and loaded up on clothes, odds and ends, and a couple of decent books. I haven't had more than a week's worth of clothes in years. Starting to feel spoiled. I'm also within a couple miles of a place to fill my propane tanks, and the food in this town is absolutely amazing. The pizza around here is absolutely perfect.
Only three more weeks til my first payday, and I'm excited. Going to do the mirror and tow package upgrades on the truck, and maybe get some solar panels. It's been freezing, but unusually sunny since I've been here.
Overall, I'm really happy with my first camper trailer, and I think I'm going to keep doing this. It works out well. It's basically about the same size as a studio apartment, costs about the same (maybe a little less) for lot rental. But the difference here, is that I can take it with me wherever I go. The next project I work on will almost certainly be in another state. But now, I'm at home just about anywhere. I've been on the road doing this kind of work for pretty much my entire adult life. But having a home on wheels, that's new for me, and I'm loving the adventure of it.
Just thought I would share.
